The Best SD Cards for Steam Deck

Steam Deck running out of space? Snag one of these SD cards to upgrade your storage.

Steam Deck doesn't offer a ton of built-in storage, and that's especially true of the entry-level model. Expand your library and keep loading speeds fast with a good SD card.

Valve offers a variety of Steam Deck models, but most of them are severely lacking in storage. Opting for the base model will only get you 64GB---which is barely enough to hold a few indie titles. Thankfully, Valve allows you to expand your gaming library with microSD cards. This makes it easy to quickly beef up the handheld's storage capacity, though there are a few factors to consider before picking up the cheapest one on Amazon.

The most important factor to consider is speed. Steam Deck supports transfer rates up to 100MB/s, so be sure your SD card hits this target. There's nothing wrong with going above this limit, although Steam Deck is built to support only UHS-I cards, meaning you won't see much of a performance boost above 100MB/s. Go below this, however, and you'll experience long loading times and decreased performance.

Reliability is the other factor that's truly important when shopping for Steam Deck SD cards. Companies like SanDisk, Samsung, and Lexar have been creating powerful SD cards for years, so you can rest easy knowing your files will be safe. Steer clear of knockoff brands that you've never heard of, as these could become corrupted and cause issues for you down the line.

Beyond reliability and speed, you'll just need to determine which size card is best for your gaming library. Indie games take up much less space than blockbusters like God of War. If you intend to hold tons of demanding games on your Steam Deck, springing for a 1TB SD card is a good option. But if you're just going to be playing Stardew Valley, Celeste, and other hit indies, you might be able to get away with something much smaller. A card that's 256GB tends to offer the best combination of pricing and size.

With that in mind, here's a look at the five best Steam Deck SD cards available today.

How Did We Research

Models Evaluated

Hours Researched

Reviews Analyzed

9

6

14

How-To Geek's product recommendations come from the same team of experts that have helped people fix their gadgets over one billion times. We only recommend the best products based on our research and expertise. We never accept payment to endorse or review a product. Read More »

Pros

Cons

✓ Fast loading times

✗ Might be overkill

✓ Reasonable price

✓ Extremely durable

SanDisk is responsible for some of the best SD cards currently available, so it should be no surprise that its premium Extreme Pro lineup is the best option for Steam Deck. Along with the reliability that SanDisk is known for, the Extreme Pro offers impressive read and write speeds, making it a great fit for gaming on Valve's handheld.

The Extreme Pro is built with transfer rates up to 170MB/s, which is well above the 100MB/s that Steam Deck can produce. In other words, the speed is absolutely overkill for Steam Deck—you'll never have to worry about slow speeds again.

SanDisk also built the Extreme Pro to be durable, useful when traveling with Steam Deck. From water and X-rays to high temperatures and accidental drops, this card can handle it all.

Despite all these features, pricing is fairly reasonable for all models of the Extreme Pro, with a 128GB model regularly available for just $20. We'd recommend springing for at least the 256GB model, and a 1TB version is even available if you have dozens of games you want to bring on the road.

With stats well beyond Steam Deck's limits, the Extreme Pro lets you play games without worrying about slow transfer rates. It's also remarkably durable, making it a great travel companion.

The Extreme Pro is incredibly fast and capable of standing up to the rigors of travel. It's also reasonably priced, making it best SD card for Steam Deck.

Pros

Cons

✓ Great price

✗ Larger models are much more expensive

✓ Fully supported by Steam Deck

✓ Models available up to 1TB

It's not as fast as the Extreme Pro, but the SanDisk Ultra is the perfect SD card for frugal shoppers. With a 256GB model that's regularly available for just $20, this is an easy way to boost your Steam Deck storage capacity without emptying your wallet.

The Ultra carries a UHS-I rating, allowing Steam Deck to run at its fastest possible speeds. And like most SanDisk products, this one is fully supported by a wide range of other products (such as cameras, smartphones, and tablets), so you can easily swap it to other devices if you ever upgrade to a better Steam Deck card.

While the lower-range cards are affordable, you'll still spend around $100 for a 1TB model. At that price, it might be better to consider other models on this list, which are a bit more robust yet not much more expensive. But if you stick to the 128GB, 256GB, or 512GB models, the Ultra is a great option.

The SanDisk Ultra may not be as fast as others on this list, but it still meets the requirements of Steam Deck. It's also dirt cheap, although the larger models can quickly become expensive.

Pros

Cons

✓ Read speeds up to 190MB/s

✗ Not the fastest card on the market

✓ Write speeds up to 130MB/s

✓ Models up to 1TB

The SanDisk Extreme is fast. With transfer speeds up to 190MB/s, you'll benefit from load times similar to games stored on Steam Deck's built-in storage. It's also reasonably priced, with its 256GB model commonly offered for around $20, and carries an A2 rating (which means you'll see faster reading and writing times than lesser cards).

This isn't the fastest card on the market (some newer products get over 200MB/s), but the 190MB/s offered by the Extreme is more than Steam Deck can utilize. You'll also benefit from impressive durability and longevity, making it a wise investment that should last just as long as your Steam Deck.

Toss in the option to choose from various sizes (128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB), and you've got a compelling product. Loading games, installing games, and moving around files is no challenge for the SanDisk Extreme, and it's an easy recommendation for anyone seeking a lightning-fast SD card for their handheld.

This card far exceeds what Steam Deck is capable of, so you'll never have to worry about slow loading times ever again.

Pros

Cons

✓ Samsung reliability

✗ 256GB might be too small

✓ Transfer rates up to 130MB/s

✓ 10-year limited warranty

You can find many SD cards for less than $25, but few are as impressive as the Samsung Evo Select. With the 256GB version clocking in at just $20, you get everything you need to expand your Steam Deck library without an inflated price.

As expected, this is built with specs that meet or exceed everything the Steam Deck requires. This includes a UHS-I classification and transfer speeds up to 130MB/s. So whether you're playing a lightweight indie or beefy blockbuster, they'll benefit from fast load times when stored on the Evo Select.

This SD card is also surprisingly durable. Like our top pick, Samsung designed this card to handle extreme temperatures, water, x-rays, magnets, and accidental drops. Toss in a 10-year limited warranty, and it's clear the Evo Select is a reliable choice.

If you need more space, consider jumping to the 512GB model, which can frequently be found for $40 and should give you more freedom when deciding which games to keep on your device.

You can pick up a 256GB SD card that supports the minimum specs of Steam Deck for just $20. And since it's designed by Samsung, you know it's reliable and bound to last years without issue.

Pros

Cons

✓ Up to 150MB/s read speeds

✗ Pricey

✓ Five-year limited support included

✓ Built to UHS-I specifications

You'll need to drop around $100, but the Lexar Play 1TB Memory Card is worth every penny. With enough storage for dozens of games, you'll benefit from fast transfer speeds and reliable construction that ensures your files will be safe for years to come.

Like everything else on this list, the Lexar Play earned the UHS-I rating, offering read and write speeds that the Steam Deck can take full advantage of. It's also a great option for Nintendo Switch---so if you ever want to pick up a new card for Steam Deck, you can swap this one over to the other platform.

Read times max out at 150MB/s, you'll get five years of limited support, and its 1TB size means you should have no problem dealing with all the updates required of today's hottest games. And since it's designed for gaming, it's all but guaranteed to work flawlessly on Steam Deck.

Offering a solid price, impressive speeds, and a staggering 1TB capacity, this is the card to pick if you need to hold dozens of games.

By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime.